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How the School StartedThe name Holmston Primary is a relatively new name, until 1930 the school had been known as Smith's Institution. This was the name given to the school in memory of Captain John Smith, a local mariner, who bequeathed £2,000 to pay the salary of a schoolmaster so that the children of people who could not afford school fees could be educated free, while the fees for those who could pay were less than at other schools. In his will Capt. Smith stipulated that the pupils were to be taught "to read English, writing, and what is called the five common rules of arithmetic--- fitted for the common occupations of life" but assistance should be provided for any pupil with "uncommon ability and strong inclination for learning".
Smith's Institution opened in 1825, the first master
being Mr William
McDerment, in a room in the local poorhouse.
In 1842 a new Smith's Institution opened nearby in "one of the largest and most commodious schoolrooms in the county" (54ft.x26ft.x17ft.) to which a second storey was added in 1867 by which time 300 pupils paid a penny a week, 70 pupils attended free and were taught by 3 teachers and 2 pupil teachers.
After changing location several times, including some use of the
canteen of the local army barracks, the present building
was opened with great ceremony
on Monday 7th. January 1884.
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